UC Berkeley

Electron correlations often lead to emergent orders in quantum materials, and one example is the kagome lattice materials where topological states exist in the presence of strong correlations between electrons. This arises from the features of the electronic band structure that are associated with the kagome lattice geometry: flat bands induced by destructive interference of the electronic wavefunctions, topological Dirac crossings and a pair of van Hove singularities. Various correlated electronic phases have been discovered in kagome lattice materials, including magnetism, charge density waves, nematicity and superconductivity. Recently, a charge density wave was discovered in the magnetic kagome FeGe, providing a platform for understanding the interplay between charge order and magnetism in kagome materials. Here we observe all three electronic signatures of the kagome lattice in FeGe using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The presence of van Hove singularities near the Fermi level is driven by the underlying magnetic exchange splitting. Furthermore, we show spectral evidence for the charge density wave as gaps near the Fermi level. Our observations point to the magnetic interaction-driven band modification resulting in the formation of the charge density wave and indicate an intertwined connection between the emergent magnetism and charge order in this moderately correlated kagome metal.